Day 111: Hello God! (Psalm 49:1-20, Luke 20:27-21:4, Deuteronomy 33:1-34:12)
Psalm 49:1-20
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1 Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all who live in this world,
2 both low and high,
rich and poor alike:
3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.
4 I will turn my ear to a proverb;
with the harp I will expound my riddle:
5 Why should I fear when evil days come,
when wicked deceivers surround me—
6 those who trust in their wealth
and boast of their great riches?
7 No one can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for them—
8 the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough—
9 so that they should live on forever
and not see decay.
10 For all can see that the wise die,
that the foolish and the senseless also perish,
leaving their wealth to others.
11 Their tombs will remain their houses forever,
their dwellings for endless generations,
though they had named lands after themselves.
12 People, despite their wealth, do not endure;
they are like the beasts that perish.
13 This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
and of their followers, who approve their sayings.
14 They are like sheep and are destined to die;
death will be their shepherd
(but the upright will prevail over them in the morning).
Their forms will decay in the grave,
far from their princely mansions.
15 But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;
he will surely take me to himself.
16 Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
when the splendour of their houses increases;
17 for they will take nothing with them when they die,
their splendour will not descend with them.
18 Though while they live they count themselves blessed—
and people praise you when you prosper—
19 they will join those who have gone before them,
who will never again see the light of life.
20 People who have wealth but lack understanding
are like the beasts that perish.
Commentary
Life beyond the grave
There is a stark contrast between life without God, and life with God.
- Life without God
Those who live without God tend to end up trusting in either wealth (v.6a) or themselves (v.13a). This trust is characterised by a search for status. The wealthy may ‘boast of their great riches’ (v.6b) and use money to impress others with their possessions (v.16). They may even name lands after themselves (v.11a).They enjoy the praise of others (v.18b) and they count ‘themselves blessed’ (v.18a). They may try to use their wealth to ‘buy off’ their own death (v.7). Yet no amount of money is ever enough (v.8). In the end, it is all futile as wealth gets left to others (v.10b). ‘So don’t be impressed with those who get rich and pile up fame and fortune. They can’t take it with them’ (vv.16–17a, MSG). What is this all worth if we ‘decay in the grave?’ (v.14).
- Life with God
By contrast, if you live a life with God there is no need to search for status. This is because your status is determined not by your success in accumulating wealth, but in knowing to whom you belong and how precious you are to him.Your ransom has been paid (v.7b) and you have been redeemed – your future is secure: ‘But me? God snatches me from the clutch of death, he reaches down and grabs me’ (v.15, MSG).
A life with God means you will ‘live on for ever and not see decay’ (v.9). The psalmist says, ‘Why should I fear?’ (v.5). Fear is a natural human emotion. But, with God you can face your fears with confidence because you are able to have complete trust in God for this life and the life to come.
Here is one of the few hints in the Old Testament of life after death. The writer is confident that ‘God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself’ (v.15). Life with God does not end with death but continues on into eternity. The psalmist was confident in this, even though he did not know how it was possible. The answer is revealed through Jesus’ resurrection.
Prayer
Lord, thank you for the power of your resurrection, which now lives in me. Thank you that you will snatch me from the clutch of death and take me to yourself.
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